The
SimCity Blog announces the online-only requirement is being removed from the
Windows edition of SimCity as of the upcoming Update 10, which adds a
single-player mode to the urban-planning game. Here's word from Patrick
Buechner, General Manager of the EA's Maxis Emeryville studio:

Letís get
right to it.

SIMCITY OFFLINE IS COMING!

Iíve wanted to say those words for quite some time, so my apologies that I
didnít take the time to say Happy New Year first.

Yes, Offline is coming as a free download with Update 10 to all SimCity players.
When we launch it, all of your previously downloaded content will be available
to you anytime, anywhere, without the need for an internet connection. We are in
the late phases of wrapping up its development and while we want to get it into
your hands as soon as possible, our priority is to make sure that itís as
polished as possible before we release it. So, until thenÖ testing, testing and
more testing. As one of the final steps, weíre putting Offline into the hands of
some of our most hardcore players, the DevTesters. This group of volunteers is
going to put Offline through its paces before we release it.

In Update 10, you can still play solo in Regions on your own, or in Multiplayer
with people from around the world. Whatís new is the Single Player Mode, which
allows you to play the game Offline by yourself. And because your saved games in
this mode are stored locally, you can save and load to your heartís content. Our
team will be delivering a follow-up blog that will outline the full details in
the near future so stay tuned.

So what does this mean for the Online game? All of the benefits of being
connected will remain including access to Multiplayer, the Global Market and
Leaderboards. And all of your pre-existing saved cities and regions will still
be accessible should you log-in to the Online game.

Bringing the game Offline means big things for our wonderful community of
Modders. They can now make modifications to the game and its components without
compromising the integrity of the Online game. Modding is a big part of our
studioís legacy and weíre excited to see what you guys create. Check out
this thread to learn about Oppie85ís Central Train Station, which you can
put into your game right now, and if youíre interested in making your own
content take a look at the
Modding
Policy. To get you started, we will be rolling out a series of tutorials
from the studio that surfaces how weíve created some of the content that youíve
seen so far in hopes of inspiring your creativity.

So thatís it from me for the time being. Keep an eye out for more information on
Offline shortly. Weíll be releasing more information on how it all works. And as
always, get in touch with me on Twitter
@EAGamer, Iím always eager to read your feedback.

From me, and everyone at the studio, thank you again for staying with us. We
look forward to getting Offline for SimCity into your hands as soon as
possible.